About 1200 calories
1 entree of spaghetti with meat chunks in the jelly/sauce, 1 brown sugar poptart, 1 chocolate chip cookie, 1 packet of crackers with peanut butter.
I skipped to drink mix and the peppermint melted into syrup that was all over everything in the mre. I do not use the heaters and just eat cold.
Was originally packaged in the late 1900s, probably around 1998.
1 entree of chicken, noodles, peas, carrots, etc. 1 pack of crackers with peanut butter, 1 brown sugar frosted poptart, 1 oatmeal cookie.
I did not use the heater, i did not use the drink mix, i did not eat the peppermint which melted and somehow soaked everything in the package.
Civilian version MRE ration, best guess is it was made back in the late 1900s, probably 1998 or 1999 and sold during the Y2K paranoia times.
Suffering succotash was home canned succotash i opened and dried on window screens back in 2013. Boiled to rehydrate its dark brownish and chewy. They were stored in a jar inside a barrel full of jars buried in the woods as a hedge against times i got no money available to buy stuff and my crops fail.
I'm out of that succotash now too, but i can make more i think by combining leather brutches with dried corn and beans, just gonna take longer to boil.
The chicken was a very dented can of chicken expired in 2024. Heated, drained, then added BBQ sauce which expired 2019.
The mashed potatoes were mash potato powder reconstituted with boiling water, and i used the very last of my supply of soy based buttery popcorn topping on the potatoes (topping expired in 2024 iirc, no idea on the potatoes, probably around 2023).
I am now out of buttery topping, its the end of an era (or error) as i don't plan to buy any more of it ever again.
Edit: ate the same thing yesterday, didn't wash the plate, just left it on the counter overnight. BBQ sauce from yesterday is still stuck on the plate seen where food is not on it in this picture.
Not using cabbage for colecannon today, just plain mashed potatoes (no salt or powdered milk) made from potato powder.
The succotash is more from precooked and dehydrated corn, beans, green beans canned and dried in 2012 or 2013.
The can if chicken expired November of 2024, the can squirted me when opened as it was under pressure from a large dent crushing the bottom of it. Heated and mixing BBQ sauce which also expired years ago.
This uses up almost all the soy based buttery topping, i have just enough left to have on potatoes tomorrow then I'm out and don't plan to buy it again, i won't post tomorrow so this will be the last time y'all will see me use it, the end of an error!
Nothing all that fancy. Was going to do rice and lentils again but was too fatigued to cook by the time i thought of it.
Macaroni and beef entree, 1 frosted brown cinnamon poptart. 1 oatmeal cookie, mre crackers and peanut butter, not shown was some rasins that i ate first.
I got this tray in a thrift store 15 years ago, used it since people keep saying stuff about a tray when i posted previous mre rations.
Mre was bought back in 2015 when i put a wanted ad in the free trader, no idea how old it is, my guess is 25 years or close to it.
1 can of chicken, expired January 2025. Opened a new can of BBQ sauce since i used up the last one, it expired in 2019 (got on clearance at a Mennonite store in 2019). Powdered mash potatoes with dehydrated boiled cabbage, and precooked then dehydrated corn, beans, and green beans boiled until edible (still chewy).
Hadn't eaten in days.
1 package knorr rice and vermicelli. Some more lentils out of that 2 liter bottle from 2013ish. Some more pickled jalapenos, and half a can of tomatoes. The tomatoes expired in August of 2020 so i probably bought them in 2017 or abouts. The can was kinda rusty but they still smell fine.
Going to do the same tomorrow to use up the other half of the can of tomatoes.
1 can of chicken , expired in January 2025, heated and mixed with BBQ sauce.
6 spoons worth of powder mash potatoes mixed with 2012 vintage dehydrated boiled cabbage.
1 cup of 2012 corn and beans, precooked and dried. A mix of i think Lima beans, corn, green beans, and possibly great northern beans. Boiled to rehydrate.
The succotash was a mix of canned stuff from bulk #10 cans dried on old window screens, packed in jars and buried in a barrel, repacked into Ziploc bags recently when brought up to the cabin.
This is one of the rare times i used salt as i tapped the shaker over the succotash.
Not shitty enough for r/shittyfoodporn still not exactly high end though.
1 pack of knorr Spanish rice and vermicelli expired in 2022. 1/2 cup dry lentils that were stored in a soda bottle inside a barrel buried in the woods, bought them sometime between 2009 and 2012.
Topped with pickled jalapenos expired in 2022. A fresh tomato i was given last week (some Mennonites i know gave it to me). And some taco bell hot sauce, expired in 2022.
I don't often have money, at times i do have money i stock up on shelf stable supplies to fill my cabin (i live in a shack in the woods living on about $350 per month) and more to bury in the woods or otherwise hide to extend the cabin supply. I barely bought anything in years now, last big haul was 2019 or 2020.
Estimate 1000 calories and thats all I'm eating today, except a couple packs of expired fruit snacks for vitamin c, which made up another 300 calories.
Today's ration is both artesian and shitty so i guess its shitesian?
I have no bread so i made 2 sub rolls with 2 cups of flour, a pinch of yeast, a spoon of sugar and a spoon of powdered milk. Made a wet dough last night and let it sit overnight. The year multiplied overnight so i get many uses out of an instant yeast packet. Baked at 400f until firm.
I was going to used canned tomatoes but someone gave me some fresh ones the other day.
Instead of lettuce I'm using dandelions, trimmed up since the strms are hard.
For bacon i opened a can of bacon bits. They were cheap in bulk in 2020 because they were freezer burned. I canned them and have 10 jars left after this.
I have no mayo so I'm using thousand Islands dressing, that expired in 2022 and has sat open on the counter since February.
Heavy rain so I'm not biking today. It really sucks stuck here bored. I will be eating the first sub now and the second one at the same time (not enough room on plate for both though).
After today's ration i biked to another Mennonite store to get some clear jell. Got a half price blueberry scone for $2. Found a hair stuck to one of the berries. Looked to be an eyelash. Picked it off and ate the scone anyway. I dislike this particular business already but its the only place to get bulk clear jel for pie making.
Posted then removed and reposted so i could include in the title why it counts as shitty, or hairy as the case may be
An expired pack of Aldi's rice and vermicelli mix, the seasoning was glued to the package and had to be scraped out. Expired in 2018.
Lentils that i got before 2012. I packed them into a soda bottle to keep them dry around 2012.
Half a green pepper and half a tomato diced and pan fried. I was given them yesterday when i gave 4 dozen eggs to some Mennonites.
I also used some taco bell hot sauce, i got the glass bottle ones not the restaurant packets.
I will have the same thing tomorrow.
I biked another 30 miles this morning and got another case of expired fruit snacks from a Mennonite store. I was tempted to bike to a different store on a second trip today but I'm tapped out, too much back pain, they will be closed by the time i can muster myself to make another trip.
1150 calories (i didn't use the lemonade mix)
1 entree, not heated, of chicken with beans in a tomato sauce. 1 Brown sugar poptart, 1 pack of crackers with peanut butter, and 1 chocolate chip cookie.
No idea how old the MRE is, i got it back in 2016 iirc, from someone responding to a wanted ad i had in the paper looking for mre's. No idea how long the seller had them kicking around. Its not a military one. It could be as old as 1997 or as recent as 2012.
I biked 30 miles again today and got another case of fruit snacks at the Mennonite store. Whole case of expired fruit snacks for $1, i have 11 cases now :P
1 can of chicken, heated up this time since i changed the lp tank since last time. Can expired in January of 2025. Mixed and topped with BBQ sauce, no idea how old.
Powdered mash potatoes with 2012 home dehydrated boiled cabbage.
Estimate 1000 calories.
I biked 30 miles in the rain this morning and got another case of expired fruit snack candy at the Mennonite store. I have 10 cases now. Not eating them, just stashing them in the cellar.
Day old lentils that sat unrefrigerated for 24 hours on the counter, a so called rice and broccoli mix (expired 2018) there is no rice or broccoli in it at all. Roughly 800 carlories like yesterday. Not eating anything else today.
Raining today so I'm not doing anything all day but lay on the couch in the excruciating pain brought on by the humidity.
Doing the same kinda stuff for the next week, so won't post again for a bit.
1 package of Spanish rice/vermicelli mix, either expired in February 19th of 2018, or in February of 1918, same year the Kaiser stole our word for two, i chased that rascal for dickitythree miles to get ut back but he got away!
Anyway, i did not add butter ir anything so its just added water to the mix, the contents of the package were stuck to the inside/matted so i had to scrape it off. 440 calories from the rice mix.
The lentils were bought sometime between 2009 and 2012. Packed in an old diet pepsi bottle (when i drank that stuff) then had been buried in a barrel for years. I measured out a cup of dry lentils and boiled them. I used half today, mixed into the rice, about 350 calories from the lentils. So it's actually just 790 calories, but I'm gonna say its 800.
Going to make rice/vermicelli again tomorrow and use the leftover lentils then, they will sit on the counter in the covered pot till then.
I also got 100 calories from a very stale kashi granola bar i found in a box in the loft while looking for a cloth bag earlier (didn't find the bag), the bar expired in 2020. Also found an apple luna bar, but it was black and tasted terrible so it was thrown out in the woods. That was just before i biked 30 miles to get another case of expired fruit snacks candy for $1 from a Mennonite store. Wanted to use the bag to carry strapped to my pack, ended up using a cheaper/flimsier bag to do it.
Also since someone keeps asking i included a picture of the stove.
Biked 30 miles this morning, got back and made a pot if these pasta sides, double portion so its 4 servings at 240 calories per serving. Just the contents of the packs with 1 quart of water.
No milk or butter was added. Did not use powdered milk and soy based buttery topping (the shelf stable alternatives i have access to).
These packs expired September of 2017 so i probably bought them in mid 2015, so these were not in the bucket in a hollow tree but were probably in the bucket inside a barrel i buried in the woods that summer.
Over the next 7 days I'm planning to have 1 MRE, 1 can if chicken with colecannon again, and the other 5 days will be rice and lentils with an average of 1000 calories per day.
1 pouch vegetables and pasta in tomato sauce, 1 pack of crackers, 1 packet of peanut butter, 1 brown sugar poptart, 1 oatmeal cookie.
The lemonade mix was a solid clump so i didn't use it.
1200 calories
It came from a case of non military MRE rations i got for $20 in summer 2016. So i been saving them for a decade, hording for a special occasion since they are hard to find or expensive. Its not a special occasion, I'm just using one today. The case was old when i got it (i put a wanted ad in the paper iirc) and was probably made while Bush was still in office, and maybe as old as the 90s. No dates on the case or anything in it.
Knorr pasta, either its got a few centuries till it expires in October of 2916 or it expired almost a decade ago october 29th of 2016.
440 calories.
I think i bought it in 2014 when i scraped up a few bucks. 2013 i worked the fall 10 hours a day, 6 days a week after working 2 days a week spring and summer. Was laid off December 31st and denied unemployment because of how my hours were handled (based on quarterly earnings, not number of weeks employed) so i bought up more shelf stable stuff like this, cheap calories to supplement foraging and my crops, and stashed them away. Like filling a bucket of preserved food and hiding the bucket in a hollow tree. 2014 i had no income all year except peddling some firewood or mushrooms i found in the woods. Ate a lot of woodchucks that year.
Been cleaning out the old preserved stuff the last few years as i live on less than $350 per month, living in my shack in upstate NY as upstate as it gets (gotta watch my step in the woods or i could accidentally step in Quebec). Normally post is shittyfoodporn but this isn't exactly shitty.
Going to bike out because some mennonites 15 mile away have a great sale at their little store selling cases of expired fruit snacks for $1 per case, pretty sure i can manage a case at a time in a backpack, even with half my spine bolted together, cases only weigh 4lb 8oz.
This uses up the last of the Velveeta sauce and i don't plan to ever buy any more again.
1.5 cups of macaroni noodles, and a bunch of dandelions boiled in a quart of water i got from the traugh. Added 1 expired can of chicken (expired January 2025) and 2 packs of Velveeta.
The traugh is filled by a trickle of water from a wooden peg in a hole in the well pipe, the wells artesian so it constantly flows out the pipe. I do dishes by soaking them a few days then wiping them off. The dogs and cats drink out of it. Frogs hang out in it, sometimes i put bait fish in it. The boiling of the water cleans it as it cooks the noodles and dandelions (so i don't bother washing them). I pull that peg to fill water jugs when i want water I'm not going to boil before using.
At one time i had over 30 boxes of Velveeta (3 packs per box) as i stocked up years ago thinking it would work like mre cheese sauce (its not as good) and as an alternative to cheese for the many times i have no money, its uses as a cheese are, limited, at best. So now that its finally used up i don't plan to ever buy it again.